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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23971276">Lack of Sleep is (sadly) Normal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudrianDae/pseuds/AudrianDae'>AudrianDae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Digitalta's Digital Wonderland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>3am Brownie Baking, 5am water is fucking delicious, AU, Bella is such a hufflepuff, Bella is such a mum, Children need to SLEEP, Coffee grinders are the devil in disguise, Dae is a cat, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm not entirely sure if this is fluff or not, If everyone lived in the same (gigantic) house, Literally everyone needs to sleep, Putting Others First Sanders Sides Spoilers, Sleepy Bella is Child Bella, We spite God, Yu Li teach us your ways</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:42:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23971276</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudrianDae/pseuds/AudrianDae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically a bunch of fics about people not sleeping when they should be.</p><p>It's only teen and up due to swearing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(platonic) Dae &amp; Cleo, Bella/Zero, Edge-a-Sketch, Sketch/Darcy, Zella</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Digitalta’s Fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Bloodhound for Kettle Clicks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23808052">In which everyone is a Hypocrite when it comes to sleep except for Yu Li. Teach us your ways, functional one.</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudDragon/pseuds/CloudDragon">CloudDragon</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At the unholy hour of ass'o'clock at night, Dae decides to get some tea before returning to their bedroom to write. <br/>Unfortunately, luck is not on their side as the kettle click bloodhound was not asleep as they waited for the kettle to boil.<br/>(It's not horror, I promise.)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So... I wrote this instead of sleeping. Largely inspired by CloudDragon's work on sleep, as well as the cup of tea I decided to drink before writing this at *you guessed it,* ass'o'clock at night.</p><p>Basically, everyone's in the same house, with very similar sleeping schedules to their real ones (if they didn't have school, siblings, etc).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dae switched off their computer and rested their head in their hands for a few seconds. They were <em>tired</em>, but not enough to fall asleep. They still had some writing they wanted to do, but it would be easily done on their phone, and they wanted to get a cup of tea first. A sigh escaped their lips as they pulled themself out of their chair. Dae padded down the stairs, heading to the kitchen.</p><p>Light didn't shine from under Bella's door, but Dae still tiptoed past. They grabbed a mug and a packet of green tea, one of their favorite drinks before coffee took over their mornings. They turned on the kettle, wincing at the soft click it always made.</p><p>If Bella was still awake, she'd have heard it and would be after them within the next five minutes. Dae paced anxiously, willing the water to boil faster so <em>maybe</em> they could drink their tea before Bella showed up. She was like a hellhound sniffing out blood when it came to the subtle click of the kettle.</p><p>Bella glanced up from her computer, a frown crossing her face. She had heard the soft click, as always. Her eyes darted to the time on the top right corner of her computer. <em>3:29am</em>. If Guppy was making coffee again, Bella was going to lose her shit. <em>No coffee at this unholy hour. You're still growing. Sleeping is more important than your projects, hun.</em> She had said the words a thousand times before, and she would say them again. Bella sighed, shutting her computer.</p><p>Though the lights were off, she could clearly hear the water boiling in the kitchen. Bella flicked on the light switch, crossing the kitchen floor swiftly as the silhouette of the guilty party appeared.</p><p>"Guppy, if you're making coffee this late <em>again, </em>I <em>swear–</em>" Bella stopped short upon seeing someone she didn't expect.</p><p>Dae froze like a deer in headlights as the lights flickered on. Their entire figure was extremely similar to Guppy's, from hair to the broad shoulders and clothing choices. The main difference between the two when shrouded in darkness was their height. Dae glanced up at her, guilt written all over their face.</p><p>"What is it with children and staying up late?" Bella muttered to herself.</p><p>"I thought– well, I <em>hoped</em> you were asleep." Dae said in a near whisper, eyes darting away from hers. "I was just getting some hot water." They tacked a smile on the end of their sentence.</p><p>Bella raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. She nodded slowly. "And I suppose the tea bag got into your cup by accident." Her voice held no bite, but Dae's face fell anyway.</p><p>"Hun, you need your sleep." Bella sighed.</p><p>"I can't... I wanted to write tonight because night is the best time to write. You know, because that little voice that says ‘everything you've thought of is trash’ has shut up and you can actually write stuff? So I thought that maybe I'd sleep a bit later tonight?" They offered.</p><p>Bella shook her head slowly. <em>Why can't all the kids just go to bed at respectable times like Yu Li and Cloud?</em> Granted, the two were early birds, and most of them weren't. Some people, while not exactly early birds, still slept at decent times. Then, there were those who simply broke the laws of sleep. Guppy and Sketch were sometimes almost nocturnal, waking up around dinner time and sleeping before breakfast.</p><p>Dae, on the other hand, was probably some sort of sleep deprived pigeon. The earliest they slept was sometime around 3am, and the latest was anywhere between 5:15am and the afternoon. Though Bella had yet to witness Dae pull an all nighter in recent times, she was not keen to. Bella fought the urge to forcefully introduce her face to the wall repeatedly.</p><p>"Well, Dae, everyone needs to get a healthy amount of sleep. You, included."</p><p>Silence stretched between the two. Dae blinked a few times in rapid succession.</p><p>"Oh– you were talking. I must've zoned out for a second." They flashed Bella a quick smile. "Don't worry about me. My sleep schedule is pretty fucked, but I still sleep around 8 hours." At Bella's unconvinced stare, they broke. "Well, it fluctuates between 6 to 10 hours, okay, but it's a lot better than staying up the whole night?"</p><p>Bella sighed lightly, waving a hand towards the common area. "Please, Dae. At least lie on the couch with me for a while?"</p><p>Dae nodded, but cast a mournful look at the kettle. "I've been waiting for it to finish boiling this whole time, and it has failed me."</p><p>They moved to turn it off, but the darn thing finally boiled just before Dae touched it. They jumped back, hissing in annoyance. Bella couldn't contain her laughter at their expression of pure disdain.</p><p>"I swear it has some sort of grudge against me." They muttered, eyes narrowed at the kettle.</p><p>Bella tousled Dae's hair gently, surprise showing on her face as they actually <em>purred</em>. Her arm gently fell around Dae's shoulders as they moved to the couch. Dae laid their head on her legs, curling up like a cat. ‘<em>I'm either half cat, or I was a cat at one point,’</em> as they had once said. Bella draped a spare blanket over Dae’s legs, a fond smile spreading across her lips as she pet Dae's hair. The kids would probably give her heart failure one day, but their cuteness sure as hell made up for it.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pffffft if you actually read this, thank you.</p><p>Let me know if you enjoyed this! I may write some other vague fics of the wonderful members of DDW and the Content Creators. A huge thank you to the people who agreed to let me mention them/use them in this fic, and with that, I'll disappear into the void until a new idea strikes *at ass'o'clock at night*.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. First Offence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Guppy's first attempt to make coffee late at night. </p>
<p>This occurs before the events of the first chapter.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another night, another chapter written instead of sleeping (at ass'o'clock at night).</p>
<p>This one was inspired by Guppy's comment 'I just wanna know how many times Bella caught me making coffee at a time coffee should not be consumed and her reaction the first time.'</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Guppy's sleep schedule was fucked, to say the least. They lived off cat naps every few hours, unlike all the people who managed to lie in a single place for 8 hours and <em>not be productive.</em> Shorter naps meant more sleep deprived ideas and more occasions where the annoying 'nope' brain shuts off for a while.</p>
<p>Guppy swung their legs over the edge of their bed, feet curling in protest as they came in contact with the chilly floor. <em>It could be worse,</em> they told themself firmly. <em>1.2 billion people in the world have no electricity. That's 16% of the world's population. Air conditioning is a luxury.</em></p>
<p>With that fact to comfort them, Guppy forced their feet to move and get them out of their room. The rest of the house was quiet. No one (except maybe Sketch) would be awake. Guppy closed their door behind them, keeping the cool air in their room and relishing in the warmth of the hall.</p>
<p>Guppy walked down to the kitchen. They didn't bother with the main lights, only turning on the flashlight on their phone. They grabbed a mug, setting it on the counter with a barely audible clink. With trembling hands, Guppy filled the kettle and set it on the heating pad. They turned it on, the soft click of the switch seemed to echo in the otherwise silent kitchen. Even the soft hum of the fridge didn't compare.</p>
<p>3-in-1 coffee would have to do, seeing as grinding coffee beans would likely wake the entire house. As Guppy poured a sachet of coffee into their mug, their elbow clipped the sliding switch of the coffee grinder. <em>Speak of the devil.</em> Panic flared through them. Their phone clattered to the ground, and with it, the light. It was so <em>loud</em>. The grinder's red light seemed to mock them as their fingers continually failed to find the switch and turn it off. Guppy's heart thundered in their ears as they finally <em>finally</em> slammed their whole hand on the body of the grinder and dragged the switch down. The darned light switched off, and Guppy could almost see an innocent expression on its imaginary face as it did so.</p>
<p>They stooped to pick up their phone, which thankfully hadn't broken. Guppy made sure to pull the plug of the grinder before sitting on the counter. Instinctively, they curled their legs up to their chest, head resting on their knees. Try as they might, Guppy couldn't stop the thought from crossing their mind? <em>Could this night get any worse?</em></p>
<p>Just like that, they were doomed. The lights flickered on, startling Guppy. Their head jerked up from their knees, colliding painfully with the cupboard above them.</p>
<p>"Ow– Fuck. <em>Fuck.</em>" They muttered passionately, rubbing their head. "Most definitely worse."</p>
<p>Guppy returned to the floor before any more incidents happened. Their eyes found Bella, who had suddenly appeared in front of them.</p>
<p>"Oh, shit." The words left Guppy's lips unfiltered. "Shit– Fuck, I mean– <em>Fuck</em>, uh hi, Bella."</p>
<p>Bella raised a disapproving eyebrow. Guppy felt like disappearing into the floor. <em>Hell</em>. They wanted to make like the Sander's Sides and sink out. Guppy smiled guiltily, eliciting a sigh from Bella.</p>
<p>"Okay, hun, I'm going to take a look at your head. Sit down. Whether you choose to sit on the floor or the <em>perfectly </em>respectable chair less than three feet from you, it doesn't matter. Sit." Bella's tone said it probably did matter.</p>
<p>Guppy took the few steps to reach the chair and sat, wincing as Bella prodded their head lightly.</p>
<p>"I'm fine, I promise. Just a bonk."</p>
<p>"Against a sharp corner. Any sort of bonk on the head garners attention, Guppy."</p>
<p>Bella seemed only slightly less worried at not finding any injury on their head.</p>
<p>"Hey, Sketch? Dae?" Bella called. "Everyone else can go back to sleep, I just need some info on symptoms of concussions."</p>
<p>Guppy's eyebrows knit in confusion. <em>Everyone else. </em>Had they really woke <em>everyone</em> up? Why were they all within hearing distance? Why would Dae and Sketch know about concussions?"</p>
<p>"Oh, you woke quite a few of us up with the whole coffee grinder thing, but the others waited in the common area. Not entirely sure why." Bella answered, having either read Guppy's mind or understood their confusion.</p>
<p>"Because you're basically the mother of everyone, that's why." Sketch supplied. "And we know because it's a writer's life. We have the weirdest browser histories."</p>
<p>"The symptoms of a concussion include headaches, fatigue, confusion, dizziness, nausea and vomiting..." Dae cut in. "memory issues, difficulty concentrating... Uh, Sketch?"</p>
<p>"Sensitivity to light, changes in sleep patterns, and mood changes are the ones you missed."</p>
<p>Guppy's confusion only increased. "More than half of those are normal for me." They saw the perfect opportunity and grabbed it. Guppy faux gasped. "Do I have head trauma?"</p>
<p>"Bad time for a Sander's Sides reference, but I commend you on that one." Sketch said, at the same time Dae said,</p>
<p>"You mean hypoxia."</p>
<p>The three of them burst into peals of laughter. Bella's expression being a mix of confusion and concern only added to their mirth. Guppy was now almost entirely sure they didn't have a concussion, considering they'd be in a lot more pain if they did. They managed to contain their laughter long enough to see Zero comforting Bella, who was looking very close to being driven out of her mind. They caught a few words being exchanged between the two, and the relief that flooded Bella's face.</p>
<p>Guppy subtly high-fived Sketch and Dae, which set off another round of laughter. A very disgruntled Zero glared them into submission.</p>
<p>"Bella may be the nice mum, but this parent disapproves of all <em>four</em> of you still being awake at this hour."</p>
<p>"Excuse me, Professor," Bella started, with a completely straight face. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said the <em>four </em>of us."</p>
<p>"Yes, the <em>four</em> of you." Zero huffed. "Don't any of you start laughing again." They said, but their tone was light. "Shoo."</p>
<p>Sketch, the little traitor, nodded instantly. "Yes, my dear parent. I'll go to <em>bed</em>." Two seconds later they spoke again, voice distant. "But I shan't go to <em>sleep!</em>"</p>
<p>"What Sketch said." Dae grinned, similarly disappearing.</p>
<p>Bella and Zero turned their attention onto Guppy. They were about to leave, but a nagging sensation stopped them there. Guppy had almost entirely forgotten about their coffee. Almost.</p>
<p>"I'll just–" They gestured at their cup. A frown crossed their face as they stared at the kettle for a second too long. "Hang on, the water <em>still hasn't boiled???</em>"</p>
<p>Zero and Bella had a silent conversation before Bella pulled away from Zero. She steered Guppy out of the kitchen. Upon reaching the base of the stairs, Guppy turned to face her, still confused.</p>
<p>"It hasn't boiled because I turned it off after you bonked your head." Bella sighed disapprovingly. "I don't want to see you in the kitchen doing anything with the kettle anytime within 12pm and 8am."</p>
<p>Guppy was slightly unnerved by Bella's stare. She could be extremely intimidating at times, but Zero was the more intimidating of the two.</p>
<p>"Yes ma'am... But the coffee powder–"</p>
<p>Zero reappeared, easily wrapping an arm around Bella's waist. Bella's arm fell around Zero's shoulders. <em>That was too smooth to be natural without practice.</em> Guppy's brain supplied. <em>Also, Zero is the devil.</em></p>
<p>"No." The couple said in unison.</p>
<p>The force of their combined glares sent Guppy scampering up the stairs in a few seconds.</p>
<p>"Hmm... No, Darcy is the devil." They muttered. <em>But Darcy is basically baby Zero. Therefore I'm right.</em> "I'm literally arguing with myself, I'd be right either way."</p>
<p>Guppy entered their room and burrowed under their blankets. And then, there, in the safety and comfort of Guppy's room, there was one. They drifted off to sleep, and then there were none.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again, if you actually read this, thank you.</p>
<p>Let me know if you enjoyed this! I've gotten a huge amount of inspiration, so expect more from me eventually. A huge thank you to the people who agreed to let me mention them/use them in this fic, and with that, I'll disappear into the void until a new idea strikes (at ass'o'clock at night)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 5am Water is Delicious</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cleo wakes up from a bad dream in need of a good drink of water. Specifically 5am water.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one was inspired by Cleo's prompt. 'I'm [Cleo] is usually the one who tells you to sleep right before I [Cleo] go to sleep.'</p><p>I accidentally deviated from the rest of their prompt, which I may follow up with in another chapter (maybe).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cleo poked their head into Dae's room. Their face fell when they didn't see Dae in bed, or in the room at all for that matter.</p><p>"Dae?" They called, just in case Dae was there.</p><p>A ruffled pile of clothes on top of Dae's dresser moved. Dae's head poked out from the pile. "Oh, hey Cleo."</p><p>Cleo sighed. "I'm going to sleep soon, and I just wanted to remind you to go to sleep earlier today."</p><p>Dae climbed down their dresser, using their bedside table like a stair. "Hmm, maybe." They said, a smile tugging at their lips. "Soon. Ish."</p><p>Cleo narrowed their eyes at Dae, but they were too tired to properly reprimand them. They spent a full minute hugging Dae, just because they felt particularly in need of a hug. When Cleo finally pulled away, they ruffled Dae's hair and said goodnight. Dae returned the goodbye and walked Cleo to the door. Cleo walked back to their room, falling asleep almost instantly.</p><p>
  <em>"Between necromancy and shapeshifting, which would you choose?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cleo glanced around the empty white room, finding no source of the voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'd choose shapeshifting." They replied confidently.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Alright then. You asked for it."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cleo suddenly became a small worm, on a burning hot sidewalk. They tried to get to the grass, but it was so hot, and they could barely move their body. </em>
  <b>
    <em>Change!</em>
  </b>
  <em> It was the odd voice again. Cleo transformed into a fish, flapping desperately on the ground, with no water in sight. They made it to the grass before they shifted, once more not by their will. They became a snail, shrivelling as some mean kids poured salt on them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Try as they might, they couldn't escape. Cleo had to get out. Get out of what felt like the worst dream in the world. They would have pinched themself, but they had no arms. Then, one of the kids seemed to approach. Their footsteps shook Cleo to the core. The foot was getting closer. It was right above them, coming down on them. Cleo was dying, dehydrated by the salt and they were going to die....</em>
</p><p>Cleo sat up in their bed, throat scratchy and in desperate need of water. A glance at their watch told them it was 5:13am. They stumbled out to the bathroom, flicking on the lights. Their hip collided with the door frame painfully.</p><p>“Ffffffffuuuck.” Cleo cursed, rubbing their hip aggressively. “Rude door.”</p><p>They turned on the tap, placing their head at an angle to slurp from the delicious water like a person finding an oasis in a desert. <em>Five am water tastes so fucking delicious,</em> they thought.</p><p>Satisfied, Cleo turned off the water and wiped the lower half of their face with their sleeve. It came away drenched, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it was <em>5am</em> and Dae said they would sleep 'soon' at midnight. Cleo managed to stab the light switch before they left the bathroom. That left the hallway plunged in darkness as they fumbled over to Dae’s room. They barely forgot to open the door gently instead of barging in.</p><p>"Dae, you had better be sleeping, or I will find you, smack you on the head, lightly mind you, and cuddle you until you sleep." Cleo announced as they entered.</p><p>Sure enough, Dae had not fallen asleep yet, and was sitting on their bed. They glanced up, a smile crossing their features.</p><p>"Soooo. What do I give the pleasure of your company?" Dae switched off their phone.</p><p>Cleo frowned at them. "Since when are you so fucking..." They waved a hand, blinking bleerily. "Formal?"</p><p>"I dunno... Maybe because I'm totally not Dae." Dae flicked on their bedside light.</p><p>Cleo blinked several times. They frowned, squinted, then blinked a few more times. "You're not Dae."</p><p>"Yes, I just said that.” Not-Dae replied. “Well done Cleo, you've noticed that Dae and I are not in fact the same person. Amazing that you couldn't tell the second you entered my room, or heard my voice."</p><p>Cleo was quick to apologise. "Sorry, it's 5am in the morning, and I'm not used to being awake at this time. I probably forgot to take the left turn at Albuquerque and ended up in the wrong room." Two seconds later, their brain caught up to their words. "You should be sleeping though, Guppy."</p><p>Guppy shrugged. "I live on cat naps. I find it unproductive to lie in a single place for 8 hours straight. Shorter periods of sleep are more fun."</p><p>Cleo frowned deeply. "But you still need to sleep."</p><p>"As do you," came Guppy's reply. "I'm sure you can find your way out, and I'm definitely sure that unlike Dae, you'll have a semi-decent amount of sleep tonight."</p><p>Cleo exited Guppy's room. Of course, they'd missed Dae's room in a rather silly manner. Cleo stepped into Dae's room, eyes searching for a sign of movement. There appeared to be someone on Dae's bed, but upon closer inspection, it was just a pile of pillows made to look like a body.</p><p>Cleo huffed. They were tired, and they wanted to make sure Dae would sleep before sleeping themself. They found a pile of Dae's pajama's on the dresser. Cleo was just tall enough to tiptoe and see that Dae was staring at them, wide awake.</p><p>"Shhh!" Dae said, eyes wide. "Don't make a sound or you'll wake the nightmares." They teased.</p><p>Cleo frowned in disappointment. "You said you'd go to bed. At midnight."</p><p>"I said soonish." Dae batted Cleo's hand away and climbed down from their dresser. "I was planning on sleeping up there. It's surprisingly comfortable, and it's always funny to see people think I'm not in my room." They plopped themself on the bed.</p><p>"Dae, since you're not sleeping, and I have found you..." Cleo said thoughtfully. They leaned over and gently whacked Dae on the head. "Now I'm going to cuddle you until one of us falls asleep."</p><p>"Queer Platonic Partners indeed." Dae said, scooting the pillows into a better position. They laid their head on Cleo's arm, glancing up at them. "Why do you always tell <em>me</em> to sleep though? Almost the whole house has a fucked sleep schedule."</p><p>Cleo hummed. "Yes, but you're always the one who has too few hours of sleep on average."</p><p>Dae nodded in agreement. "You're right, Cleo. You see right through me."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is turning into a bit bigger of a thing than I originally expected it to. Honestly, I have no idea at this point. It's 2:45am at the time of me writing this note, I'm tired and this absolute bleep just came out of my nutshell of a brain. *sigh*</p><p>I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Stay tuned for more ridiculousity. Seeing as I keep getting prompts, this may turn out to be a bit more of a regular thing than I first expected.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 6am Spite Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cleo can't sleep, even when they were having a sleepover in their room. They end up in the common area, staying awake to spite God.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another night, another chapter! This really isn't good for my sleep schedule, but writing! It's good productive stuff, and I'm only shifted about 7 hours off from an actual proper sleep schedule. </p><p>Inspired by a few of Cleo's prompts this time!<br/>'I’m usually the one who tells you to sleep right before I go to bed. Sometimes, you’ll be on your way to sleep when you get a glass of water, and you see me staying up out of spite directed at God.' (I actually wrote it right this time.)<br/>'I have my own room, but hardly sleep alone in it. Sleepovers.'<br/>'Yu Li (with a decent sleeping schedule) interacts with people early in the morning, unsure if they just slept and woke up early or if they didn't sleep at all'</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cleo wanted a sleepover that night. They had had nightmares the night before, and having people over always kept the bad dreams away. Skip was out, since she needed a couple days by herself. Cleo didn't ask Dae often, because they didn't sleep as well in someone else's room than in theirs. That still left a lot of people. Cleo went to Sketch first, having not had a sleepover with them in a long while.</p><p>"Hey, Sketch." Cleo made an attempt at leaning against their door frame gracefully. They failed.</p><p>Sketch visibly fought back their laughter. "Yes, Cleo?"</p><p>"Would you like to have a sleepover in my room tonight?"</p><p>"Sorry, Cleo, Sketch is mine tonight." Came another voice. Darcy, judging by the high pitch.</p><p>"Aw, darling that's such a cute way of putting it." Sketch commented. "Darcy is right though... I'm occupied tonight. Sorry..."</p><p>Cleo bit their lip to stop the outburst of laughter that came when Darcy spoke again.</p><p>"Sketch, honey, stop it!" Darcy was close to squeaking an octave higher than normal.</p><p>Sketch wrapped an arm around Darcy, tucking her head under their chin. "Another time, Cleo. I love you."</p><p>"I love you too, Sketch." Cleo replied, backing out of the room.</p><p>Everyone had an understanding that saying 'I love you' was usually meant platonically. It was always said in a way that someone would say it to their sibling. With Dae, Cleo was a bit closer than siblings, but entirely platonic.</p><p>'Queer Platonic Partners' was the term the two called their relationship. Dae was gynosexual, meaning they were only attracted to females, but they still enjoyed cuddling and being with Cleo. Thus the platonic part. They were both definitely queer, and partners just wrapped it all up.</p><p>The time on Cleo's phone read 11pm. It was too late at night for Yu Li to still be awake. Cloud was either sleeping, considering sleeping, or on another writing rampage. That still left quite a few people. Cleo settled for the door closest to them at the time.</p><p>They knocked politely, barely waiting for the quiet <em>'come in' </em>before they opened the door. Cleo slid in, closing the door behind them.</p><p>"Sooo, Jay. Would you do me the pleasure of having a sleepover with me tonight? My room?"</p><p>Jay gave them an odd look. "Firstly, take me out to dinner first." They joked. "Secondly, we sleep like three rooms away. We're in the same house. Why do we need to have a sleepover?"</p><p>"IT'S NOT THE SAME AS HAVING A SLEEPOVER." Cleo shot back. "Pleaseeeee? We can do each other's makeup."</p><p>Cleo could see they were sold.</p><p>"Okay, whatever. Help me carry over these pillows."</p><p>That was all the warning Cleo got before Jay threw three pillows at them in rapid succession. It was both impressive and intimidating that they managed to throw <em>all</em> of them so quickly. Jay draped a blanket over their shoulder and opened the door for Cleo.</p><p>"After you, good person."</p><p>Cleo walked to their room with as much dignity as one with three pillows in their arms could. That is to say, not that much. Jay giggled as they nearly dropped a pillow twice. Cleo would have stuck their tongue out at them, but that would have required them to move the pillows into a different position, and they would surely drop them all if they tried to. The pillows were dumped safely onto Cleo's bed before they remembered.</p><p>"I gotta remind Dae to sleep. Make yourself at home!" Cleo called, skipping out of the room.</p><p>"THE ENTIRE FUCKING HOUSE IS MY HOME, Cleo!" Jay shouted as the door closed behind them.</p><p>Cleo smirked. Of course the whole place was their home. It had been all of their homes for as long as they could remember. Cleo paused outside Dae's door, knocking rhythmically.</p><p>"Dae, go to bed early." Cleo called. "Please, for my sanity!"</p><p>"You don't have sanity, Cleo, I made sure of that." Dae shouted back. They opened the door and glared up at Cleo.</p><p>Cleo rolled their eyes. "That doesn't really work since you're so short." They commented, ruffling Dae's hair. "Sleep. For whatever's left of my sanity."</p><p>"There's nothing left, so I needn't care." Came their playful retort. "Shoo. Get out. Go to bed. Love you."</p><p>Cleo's lips twitched into a smile as they returned to their own room. Even with Jay in there, it felt like it was missing something. Compared to some of the others' rooms, Cleo's seemed rather odd. They had 4 pride flags hanging on the wall above their bed. Other than that, and the spare bed propped up against a wall, the room felt too empty. Cleo threw themself onto their bed. Maybe they should get glow in the dark stars for the ceiling.</p><p>Jay had set up the spare bed nicely. The extending frame of their bed had been pulled out and the mattress laid on it. Jay stared down at them for a second before clapping to get their attention.</p><p>"Makeup!"</p><p>The two took turns to change the other's style. Jay made Cleo into a Fae like character. They took several photos before allowing Cleo to transform them into an emo person.</p><p>"I'm Virgil!" Jay exclaimed happily. "Well done on the cheekbones and throat. It adds a lot of masculinity to my look. I love it." Jay beamed.</p><p>Cleo didn't have the heart to tell them it didn't fit the emo makeup they had on, so they smiled with them.</p><p>~~~~~</p><p>Cleo had a feeling that Dae was still awake. Jay had already fallen asleep, and Cleo wasn't feeling particularly tired yet. They climbed the stairs down to the common area. While Bella may have good ears for the kettle, Cleo knew she couldn't hear beanbags as well. They gently flopped onto a beanbag. It rustled obnoxiously as Cleo flipped around to face the stairs. Cleo was sure that Dae would come downstairs that night. They almost always did. <em>This is a stakeout,</em> they realised, chuckling quietly.</p><p>Sure enough, Dae came down the stairs less than an hour later. Cleo quietly watched them get some water. When they came back out, they saw Cleo lounging on the beanbag. Dae choked halfway into swallowing their water. When they finally recovered, they set down their glass and rounded on Cleo.</p><p>"You little shit! Go to bed!" Dae hissed.</p><p>"I could say the same to you, Dae. It's 6am. Yu Li will be awake soon." Cleo replied. Dae was actually intimidating when they weren't shorter than Cleo. "I'm spite-ing God."</p><p>"Damn you, Cleo." Dae threw their hands in the hair. "Fucking go to hell."</p><p>"That's what God said too." Cleo quipped.</p><p>"Yu Li is awake right now." A new voice interrupted.</p><p>Cleo nearly fell out of their beanbag as Dae hissed at Yu Li. There was a pause before the three burst into quiet laughter. As funny as the situation was, Bella and Zero were sleeping less than 20 feet from them. Yu Li, as always, recovered first.</p><p>"Knowing the both of you, you've stayed up until now. Go to sleep." Yu Li gestured to the stairs. "Besides, I like it in the <em>early</em> morning because most people are sleeping, <em>or should be.</em>" The last bit was whispered semi-aggressively.</p><p>"Technically you should be asleep too, but okay, Yu Li logic wins sleep<em> dae</em>prived logic." Dae grinned. "I'll just go put my glass away."</p><p>They grabbed their glass back from the coffee table and disappeared into the kitchen. Cleo exchanged glances with Yu Li.</p><p>"I bet you Dae's going to try to make coffee, Bella will wake up and stop them, even though they're trying to disguise it as you." Cleo whispered to Yu Li, eyebrows raised.</p><p>Yu Li laughed. "I bet Dae's going to want to make coffee, then remember I don't use the kettle this early in the morning, and so they'll come back out and go to sleep <em>reluctantly</em>." He whispered back.</p><p>Just then, Dae left the kitchen, looking defeated. They shot the two of them a <em>look</em> and walked off, a middle finger thrown over their shoulder. Yu Li looked smug.</p><p>"I win. Goodnight Cleo. Sweet dreams."</p><p>Cleo shook their head as they climbed the stairs. Yu Li had the power of a healthy sleep schedule on his side. Did that mean that Cleo would change their sleep schedule to be better? No. They'd keep on screwing their sleep because they could.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow guys, you really do be spitting to prompts! Thank you so much! It keeps me inspired and writing (and not sleeping)! I hope you've been enjoying it all as much as I have!</p><p>Leave a review if you liked it, and definitely send me some more prompts to keep this stuff going!</p><p>[Up next... Cloud on a Writing Rampage.]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Spark of Inspiration</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cloud gets inspired to write. Unfortunately for the people sleeping in the rooms beside her, the clacking of her keyboard drives them out of their rooms.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Woop woop, another chapter! Warning, spoiler for the latest Sanders Sides video, Selfishness vs Selflessness Redux. You don't have to know it to read this, but if you're following the series, you may want to watch that before reading this.</p>
<p>Inspired by CloudDragon's prompt:<br/>Me, just sitting there doing my thing at like 11pm, planning to go to bed soon, when I suddenly get a massive burst of writing inspiration for something and just go. I type very very loudly. </p>
<p>As well as a short part of a prompt from Izzy:<br/>Sometimes I randomly bake or cook at night.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud glanced at the time on her computer. 11:23pm. She would be going to bed very soon. She stretched, and started pulling off her writing gloves. Gloves. Deceit. Janus. Janus only took off his right glove, the one on his human side. What if the left glove hid snake scales under them? That could be why Janus wore gloves in the first place. From there, her thoughts went off on a tangent and she had to write it down.</p>
<p>She pulled her gloves on fully, ready to write once more. Writing music blared into Cloud's ears as she smashed out her thoughts onto the computer. Sleep could wait for a while more. Her fingers clacked against her keyboard loudly. Cloud knew it could be quite loud, but she was so engrossed, she didn't stop to think about how to make it quieter for those in the rooms next to hers.</p>
<p>
  <em>'Janus is part snake, Remus is part rat and Virgil is part cat. Perhaps Virgil was shunned due to being a less odd animal than the others. He was too cute for the Others but too much like them to be a Light side.'</em>
</p>
<p>Cloud tucked her knees up to her chest, fingers flying over the keys. <em>CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK.</em></p>
<p><em>Gotta finish my train of thought before it disappears. </em>What animal trait did the other dark sides have? Remus was probably a rat, or another sort of trash loving animal. Could Patton be a frog, due to him becoming a giant frog in the Selfishness vs Selflessness Redux? What if Patton was once a dark side as well? <em>Just a few hundred more words. I'll sleep after I finish this.</em></p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p>
  <em>CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK</em>
</p>
<p>The sound was both obnoxiously loud and soothing. It was almost like the gentle ticking of the seconds hand on a clock. <em>CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK.</em> Dae heard a door slam on the other side of the clacking room. Ah, that would probably be Izzy. Dae stretched lazily, getting up from their spot atop their dresser. It seemed that fate did not want them sleeping on their dresser anytime soon. Dae dropped down to the floor, nearly toppling over. They were a bit more tired than they thought they'd be.</p>
<p>Dae slipped down to the kitchen, finding Izzy already there. She seemed to be stress baking in the middle of the night again. Her earbuds were in as she measured different ingredients into a mixing bowl. Hesitantly, Dae tapped her on the shoulder. Izzy whipped around, spatula raised defensively.</p>
<p>"Hey, would you like a hand?" Dae asked.</p>
<p>Izzy shrugged, taking out an earbud. "Sure. Could you mix the things together?" She handed the mixing bowl to Dae.</p>
<p>Sugar, butter and salt were already in there. Izzy began adding coco powder as Dae stirred. They glanced at Izzy a couple times.</p>
<p>"What brings you down here at this time?"</p>
<p>Izzy shrugged, a bit more aggressively than necessary. "Can't sleep when there's too much noise. The clacking got me."</p>
<p>Dae nodded understandingly. Eggs were added, and the flour was next.</p>
<p>"What about you? Any reason why you're down here?" Izzy questioned.</p>
<p>"Needed a bit of a break from my room. Besides, I can't ever sleep until about 5am."</p>
<p>Izzy sieved flour into the bowl as Dae stirred. They worked in silence until all the flour was in. Izzy placed the measuring cup and sieve in the sink. She quickly cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. The mixture turned into a thick fudge.</p>
<p>"Into the pan, a bit at a time so I can add chocolate chips into it."</p>
<p>Dae did as told, a smile ghosting at their lips. "Brownies with chocolate? A sort of lava cake?"</p>
<p>Izzy nodded, placing the chocolate strategically in the brownies. She seemed a bit less stressed now. "I'm just a bit annoyed. Just a bit. Cloud probably didn't mean to type so loudly, but I was getting close to falling asleep earlier for once."</p>
<p>The next layer of brownie sludge was added. Dae scraped the mixing bowl clean then left the spatula to Izzy as they took the bowl to the sink. Izzy shoved in a few more chocolate chips before smoothing the brownie sludge over. The pan went into the oven. In 30 minutes, the brownies would be done. Dae sat on the counter and started washing the dishes.</p>
<p>"Can you think of possible solutions to this problem?" They asked Izzy. "I mean, I personally kinda like the clacks, but if you'd prefer them quiet, is there something we can do to solve it?"</p>
<p>Izzy leaned against the kitchen island, drumming her fingers on her leg. "Well... Soundproof Cloud's room, possibly. Find a way to make the keys less clacky. Find another room of the house to sleep in." She shrugged. "Not sure."</p>
<p>"Maybe we can ask Cloud about it later." Dae offered. "Tell her that the clacks disturb you slightly and if we can find a way to make them softer. We could ask Bella about that later too."</p>
<p>Dae dried their hands on a nearby towel then turned to face Izzy. "Anything you prefer, really. Till we can crash on the sofa, or the beanbags."</p>
<p>Izzy hummed thoughtfully. "Sure. I'd just like to eat some brownie first, and we still have to wait for it to finish baking."</p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p><em>Just a couple hundred more words.</em> Cloud had been telling herself that for what felt like ages. The idea she had written out totalled to about 1500 words. It wasn't a full fic, or anywhere near it, but it was something. Cloud stood to stretch out her feet again. They kept getting cold when they were tucked up on her chair. She paced back and forth across the floor of her room, only stopping when she saw what time it was.</p>
<p>2:49am. Cloud had heard the door to Izzy's room slam rather loudly when she had first started writing. Had she kept her up for so long? Cloud saved the document and switched off her computer, feeling guilty. She wasn't sure if Izzy was still awake or not. <em>I'll talk to her in the morning</em>, Cloud decided. She climbed into bed, but laid awake for another 15 minutes, her mind running in circles.</p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p>The brownies were perfectly chewy, chocolatey and delicious. Dae reluctantly retracted their hand from taking another one at Izzy's admonishment. The two headed up to their rooms after spending another couple hours downstairs. The clacking had stopped at long last.</p>
<p>Dae examined the false body they had set up on their bed. From the door it looked believable, but seemed less realistic when the lights were on, or if one got closer.Hopefully, they'd finally be able to sleep on the dresser. It was such a comfortable spot with the little nest they had made up there. Dae laid on the dresser, casting one last look at the door before relaxing into the nest. They slept peacefully, at one of the earliest times in the past month.</p>
<p>Dae woke feeling rested and lethargic. They laid curled in the blanket for a while longer before getting down to the floor. Dae stared at the selection of clothes that they had for a while. Unable to think of a creative choice of clothes, they chose the dark green shirt, jeans and hoodie that was their favorite set. The clothes were quickly donned and Dae walked out of their room at 12:13pm.</p>
<p>"Bella!!!" They called as they attempted to skip down the stairs. After nearly tripping, they continued down the stairs at a safer pace. "Mummm! Bella! Bellaaaaa!"</p>
<p>Dae walked up to Bella. "Hi." They said cheekily, getting a quick hug.</p>
<p>"What do you need, hun?" Bella asked, smiling. Morning hugs were always a good way to start the day.</p>
<p>"Coffee, then a very minor, not extremely, but kinda, important thing." Dae explained, already getting their mug and coffee packet.</p>
<p>Dae made their coffee and tilted their head toward the dining room, signalling Bella to come with them. They slipped into the dining room, plopping themself in the seat next to Cloud. Bella sat on the other side of Dae, a confused expression on her face. Izzy conveniently walked in around the same time, and took the seat opposite from Cloud.</p>
<p>"So, Cloud, what got you so excited last night? You were doing the clacky keys for ages." Dae commented, sipping their coffee.</p>
<p>"Oh, I uh had a great idea about Janus and why he wears gloves. Sorry about the loud clacking last night... I know it gets really loud."</p>
<p>Dae smiled. "Mmhm. Izzy and I were wondering if we could think of a way to make the clacking softer in case this happens again. That's why I wanted to talk to Bella too." They turned to Bella. "Can we find a way to maybe soundproof the keyboard? If you have better ideas, please use those."</p>
<p>Cloud blinked a few times in confusion. "It's the keys that always seem to clack really loudly, but the keys are attached to the computer, and I'm not sure if silent keyboards exist..."</p>
<p>Bella nodded thoughtfully. "At least we know what we're dealing with. Finish up your breakfasts and we'll see what we can do about this."</p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p>Three hours later, Bella, Cloud, Izzy and Dae were proud to say that the clacking of the keyboard was a lot less of a disturbance than before. They had created a sort of booth for Cloud to write in, and had placed a soft towel under the computer. Izzy, especially, was satisfied with the result. Dae could still faintly hear the clicks if they focused on them.</p>
<p>They all returned to the common area in good spirits. Cloud smiled to herself when she caught Dae's eye for a second. They certainly had an odd family, but Cloud loved them for it. Everyone was amazing as they were, and they were the best family Cloud could ever have asked for.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for all of your wonderful prompts! Without them, this really wouldn't have mutated into such a monster... :P</p>
<p>I've been loving writing this series, and now have a bunch of prompts lined up for the next few chapters. </p>
<p>Up next: Sleepy Bella...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Boiling Kneecaps</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bella wakes up a bit too early in the morning.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This prompt was from Cleo:<br/>Tired Bella happens! I'm going to milk her for every hug I can get!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The door to Bella and Zero's shared room opened. Cleo and Skip glanced up from where they were lounging on beanbags. Skip paused their game of animal crossing as Cleo stood. Bella walked out of her room, and nearly walked into the glass door to the kitchen. Cleo's heart melted as they watched Bella touch the glass in confusion.</p><p>"BELLA, SLEEP." Cloud called upon spotting Bella awake. She paused halfway down the stairs holding up her phone to record the scene.</p><p>"Bella, why are you up?" Cleo asked, walking up to her.</p><p>Bella glanced up at Cleo with wide eyes. "There's an invisible wall here. I can't get into the kitchen." She said in a hushed tone. "I'm up because I woke up and got up instead of snuggling with Zero." Her face seemed to fall a bit. "I didn't snuggle Zero..."</p><p>Cleo tried to keep the laughter from bursting out. They wrapped their arms around Bella protectively.</p><p>"You can snuggle me instead." They said, stroking Bella's hair.</p><p>With their other hand, they pulled out their phone and took a couple of selfies. This would be wonderful to look back on in a couple years. It would also be great blackmail material.</p><p>Bella, being 10cm shorter than them, fit nicely under Cleo's chin. She held them tightly, obviously still very tired. "You're good to snuggle. Comfy."</p><p>"You should go back to bed." Cleo said, holding Bella tight. She normally wasn't this tired or huggable, and Cleo was going to milk it for as long as they could.</p><p>"Nap?" Bella mumbled sleepily into Cleo's shoulder.</p><p>"I love you, Bella." Cleo said.</p><p>"How are you functioning on 5 hours of sleep, Bella?" Skip asked from somewhere behind Cleo.</p><p>"Have <em>another </em>nap." Cleo gently steered Bella towards her shared room.</p><p>"Yes, very nap time. Nap is good." Cloud added.</p><p>"Mm, 'm not." Bella said, voice muffled by Cleo's shoulder.</p><p>"Not what?" Cleo pried, glancing at Cloud.</p><p>Cloud shrugged. "Not going to nap?"</p><p>"Function." Bella mumbled, as if that explained everything.</p><p>"Naptime, Bella." Cleo opened the door to Bella's room.</p><p>"Yeah, ok." Bella pulled away. "Night night." She waved, disappearing into her room.</p><p>"Sleep dreams!"</p><p>"Bedtime for Bella. She's basically 12 years old." Skip commented.</p><p>"Love you, Bella!" Cloud called.</p><p>Somehow, Lais and Adel appeared, calling goodnight to Bella.</p><p>"Adel needs kisses and cuddles." Bella called, having opened her door again to shout this at all of them. "Give Adel love for me!"</p><p>The door closed once again. Cleo shared a look with Skip, then glanced at Cloud. All three of them grinned at Adel. Lais seemed to catch onto what was going on and disappeared back up the stairs. Adel took a second longer.</p><p>"Ah– no." Adel raised her hands defensively. "I know Bella said–"</p><p>"I LOVE YOU, ADEL!" Cleo shouted, bounding over to Adel and picking her up easily.</p><p>She gave them a very disgruntled look. "Put me down, Cleo."</p><p>"You know you love me." Cleo teased, spinning her around.</p><p>"Put. Me. Down. Please."</p><p>Cleo dropped her gently, gasping in shock. "So you don't love me?"</p><p>"Oh, I do." Adel grumbled, flicking Cleo's shoulder lightly. "I do love you all."</p><p>Cleo glanced innocently towards Skip and Cloud, then back at Adel. "So...."</p><p>"LOVE ATTACK."</p><p>The three of them (gently) tackled Adel to the ground, ending up in an odd pile on the floor. Shei walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes blearily.</p><p>"I'm sorry, what?" She said, upon spotting the four. "Did I miss something?"</p><p>"Yes, the almighty Mother Bella has commanded us to give love to Adel." Cloud grinned. "So here we are."</p><p>Shei shrugged. "Well in that case..." She walked over and sat on top of the person at the top of the pile. "I'll just brood here for a while."</p><p>They eventually managed to get out of the people pile and adjourn to the dining room for breakfast. There, Cleo began to explain the full story to Shei.</p><p>"So, Bella, at 7:30 in the morning, walks out of her room, and can't get into the kitchen because there's an 'invisible wall' in her way." Cleo chuckled. "Bella is an adorable child when she's tired."</p><p>"Adorable, childlike, loss of functionality. Very true." Cloud added. "Can't not love her."</p><p>~~~~~</p><p>Bella walked into the dining room about two hours later, followed closely by Zero.</p><p>"You youngesters better not have been talking about this morning or I will <em>boil your kneecaps</em>." Bella threatened. "All of your kneecaps. I'll make kneecap stew."</p><p>Cloud was the only one who appeared remotely frightened by the threat. Skip, Cleo and Shei seemed unfazed.</p><p>"She won't actually make kneecap stew, right?" She asked nervously to no one in particular.</p><p>"Nah." Zero replied. "She only threatens you all because she loves you, and because she likes to act tough."</p><p>Bella wrapped an arm around Zero's shoulders, winking at Cloud. "Don't worry, I'm not a bad parent."</p><p>Cloud, only slightly comforted by this, went back to eating her cereal.</p><p>"Oh, I'd almost forgotten about the brownies Dae and I made a couple nights ago." Izzy said as she appeared through the kitchen doors. "We kinda got distracted by a quick fix job for Cloud's room, but here they are."</p><p>She placed a large box of brownies on the table. Bella reached for it, but it was snatched away by Zero.</p><p>"One of us has to be the responsible parent." Zero said, holding the box away from Bella. "Brownies after lunch. Izzy, could you put it back please? Thanks."</p><p>Izzy hurried to do as she was bidden. Bella plopped herself in a seat, with Zero next to her. Of course Zero would be the sensible one. Bella rested her cheek on Zero's head. Zero's height to Bella's height was similar to Bella's height to Cleo's height. That sparked a memory from the night before.</p><p>"Cleo, hun, did you happen to take any pictures last night?" She asked, leaning towards them. "I seem to remember you taking a few."</p><p>Cleo glanced away, a guilty expression on their face. "Maybe...?" They grinned.</p><p>Bella swiped at their head playfully. "Fine, whatever. Keep them. Especially if there's more pictures with you in them." She smiled.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>My goodness, I've got a load of prompts lined up. I'm not sure which one to do next, so either leave a review with what I should do next, or message me!</p><p>- Everyone gets sick.</p><p>- Everyone's absolutely exhausted at 3pm.</p><p>- "Are you okay?"<br/>"I'm fine. Haven't slept in a solid 83 hours, but yeah. I'm fine."<br/>"You should go to bed..."<br/>"What? I can't go to bed yet!"</p><p>Or a special (secret) idea that I've been plotting for a while.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Sanders Sides and Coffee (but without the coffee)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While attempting to get Dae to sleep early, Cleo gets drawn into the Sanders Sides fandom. They end up staying up late-r than normal.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>... Cliche, but it's been ages. Long story short, Real Life Happened(tm). </p>
<p>Prompts from Cleo (again) and some additional input from Guppy.</p>
<p>'Guppy at 3am when I’m making you sleep and preparing to sleep “hey dae, wanna stay up till 11 with me? I can make coffee” and I’m going nO.' + 'Stay up late with me. Sanders Sides. Sanders Sides and coffee.'</p>
<p>'Sleepy Cleo keeps trying to go to sleep but wakes up every 5 mins. This could happen in the common area sofa. I alternate between melting at people and begging for hugs, telling them to fuck off and shut up, ot both. I’m assuming Bella usually wakes people up, she tries to wake me and receives the full force of this.'</p>
<p>... I deviate too much, but I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Dae, I'm going to bed soon. Remember to sleep early!"</p>
<p>"I may sleep now... I'm more tired today than normal, so we'll see. Night Cleo!"</p>
<p>"Night, Dae!"</p>
<p>Dae watched Cleo leave their room. Cleo was trying their best to get Dae's sleep back on track, but they couldn't resist when opportunities to stay up arrived.</p>
<p>"Hey, Dae, wanna stay up rewatching Sanders Sides together? I'll make coffee." Guppy poked their head into Dae's room through their shared toilet. "If Bella sniffs us out again, we can always get Starbucks."</p>
<p>Dae's eyes widened, the fatigue fading away. "Yessssss." They paused. "But Cleo will be mad at me tomorrow."</p>
<p>"HELL YEAH I WILL BE. DON'T STAY UP." Cleo re-entered Dae's room, a disapproving frown on their face. "Dae, you said you would sleep."</p>
<p>"I said we'll see." Dae countered. "And it seems to me that I'm staying up because Sanders Sides. Sanders Sides and coffee!"</p>
<p>"The longer you stall us, the later we'll stay up." Guppy added, drawing a glare from Cleo.</p>
<p>"You can always stay up with us."</p>
<p>Cleo would be miserable if they stayed up without having enough sleep the night before. A lot of planning went into staying up, unless you were able to take afternoon naps or handle the sleep deprivation. Dae knew Cleo wasn't very good at either.</p>
<p>“Fine.”</p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p>In the end, they didn’t get coffee or Starbucks, but they managed to binge all the episodes of the Sanders Sides in 7 hours. That meant that it was 6am.</p>
<p>Or rather… 6am plus a few hours due to the sleep deprived theories and excitedly pointed out foreshadowing and lampshading. That meant that it was just past 8am, and Yu Li would already be awake.</p>
<p>“Breakfast time!” Dae announced.</p>
<p>Cleo grumbled, but begrudgingly got to their feet. Guppy linked their arms together and the three of them trudged downstairs, simultaneously high as a kite and hungover-moody.</p>
<p>Dae stifled a laugh as Cleo walked into the sliding glass door to the kitchen. They were just like Bella when they were tired, though perhaps less childlike.</p>
<p>Guppy opened the door for them then made a beeline for the coffee machine. Cleo’s functionality seemed to drop even further as they began to pour cereal onto the counter. Wordlessly, Dae slid Cleo a bowl.</p>
<p>Dae had gotten used to the fogginess that came with staying up through the night. Now they had a chance to see from an outside perspective what sleep deprived people were like.</p>
<p>“Coffee with your cereal?” Guppy offered.</p>
<p>Dae hadn’t even heard the kettle click.</p>
<p>“Yes please,” they replied absently, watching Cleo tighten the milk bottle cap.</p>
<p>Eventually, Cleo gave up and shoved the milk back in the fridge. They leaned against the kitchen counter, crunching the cereal loudly.</p>
<p>It sounded duller when you were chewing it, Dae realised. It seemed almost obnoxiously loud. Maybe sleep deprivation dulled the senses.</p>
<p>Guppy nudged a cup of coffee into Dae’s hands, disturbing their thoughts.</p>
<p>“Cleo’s functioning… well.” Guppy said. “Any bets on when they’ll crash?”</p>
<p>“In the next five minutes.” Dae’s eyes were still fixed on Cleo’s form. “I’m waiting for their interaction with Bella. That would be interesting.”</p>
<p>Bella stepped into the kitchen right on cue.</p>
<p>“Morning, Cleo!”</p>
<p>Cleo gave no response, only dumping their bowl in the sink and making for the door.</p>
<p>“Cleo?”</p>
<p>“‘m gonna sleep,” came Cleo’s grumpy reply.</p>
<p>They pushed past the shell shocked Bella into the living room and threw themself onto the couch.</p>
<p>“What did you do to them?”</p>
<p>Bella rounded on Guppy and Dae. Dae shriveled under Bella’s stare.</p>
<p>“Cleo stayed up through the night with us.” Guppy admitted.</p>
<p>“Sanders Sides.”</p>
<p>“I’m going to wake Cleo up.” Bella announced as she turned away.</p>
<p>Dae shared a look with Guppy. A second later, they followed her, clutching their coffee tightly.</p>
<p>“Bella, I should probably warn you that Cleo is a bit <em>very</em> sleep deprived and waking them up could be a bad idea.”</p>
<p>Bella pushed on, squeezing through the half open door into the living room.</p>
<p>“Cleo! It’s bright and early, and time to wake up.” Bella said cheerfully.</p>
<p>She reached for Cleo’s arm only to be batted away in annoyance.</p>
<p>“Fuck off.” Cleo muttered, face turned into the arm of the couch.</p>
<p>Bella glanced at Dae, confused. She gestured between Cleo and the stairs as if asking if she should leave. Dae merely shrugged unhelpfully. Bella moved away from the couch, only to be held back by Cleo’s next words.</p>
<p>“When I said fuck off I meant be quiet, not go away.” They rolled over and made grabby hands at Bella. “Get the fuck back here and hug me.”</p>
<p>Still visibly confused, Bella squished herself onto the couch with Cleo and wrapped her arms around them.</p>
<p>“I’m going to have some serious words with the person who taught you such bad language.” She muttered.</p>
<p>“That would've been you, darling.” Zero called from the kitchen.</p>
<p>Dae sipped their coffee, taking a few pictures of the scene in front of them. “Betrayed by your own waifu.” Dae shook their head in mock surprise. “Shame.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, yes, I know. I said it would be regular. This chapter is quite a bit shorter than normal, but it's a start back into writing this story. (Also, I have another (very short) chapter to add. </p>
<p>Still gotta do those other prompts, and I'll get to them (eventually)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Stealing Bella</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dae manipulates Bella into giving them more cuddles.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I swear it's fluff.</p><p>It's short fluff though.</p><p>I was playing around with the idea of this for a while, but couldn't decide on characters. It's really short, but it's writing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dae tossed in their bed. They couldn't sleep. Dae reached for their phone, squinting as its screen lit up with a blinding light.</p><p>
  <em>&gt;Bellaaaaa</em>
</p><p>
  <em>&gt;Mumther</em>
</p><p>
  <em>&gt;Mumtherest of mumthers</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What, Dae?&lt;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>&gt;I can't sleep</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dae, you went to your room five minutes ago&lt;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>&gt;I know… but I can't sleep</em>
</p><p>
  <em>… Dae&lt;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>&gt;I miss you</em>
</p><p><em>Dae, we were cuddling </em>five minutes ago<em>&lt;</em></p><p>
  <em>&gt;Bella, please?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Good lord, fine&lt;</em>
</p><p>Dae clicked their phone off and placed it back on their bedside table. Sometimes they felt bad for manipulating Bella. But today… they just needed the cuddles. Cuddles were good.</p><p>Bella slowly opened Dae’s door.</p><p>“Amazing that you didn't manage to fall asleep within minutes of texting me.”</p><p>“Bella that was <em>one time</em>.” Dae stressed.</p><p>“You never know, darling.” Bella said, climbing into Dae’s bed. “You know, you keep stealing me from Zero at night.”</p><p>“Maybe Zero should come here at night too.” Dae shot back.</p><p>Bella hummed in response. “That's not quite how it works.”</p><p>“It's how it works when <em>cuddles</em> are involved.”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>“Zero would agree with me.”</p><p>“... Sure.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>... Nothing to see here.</p><p>Unless you'd like to leave a review and or kudos.</p><p>:D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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